Clinical presentation of congenital heart disease in newborns: Review of 50 cases

Abstract

During a period of 5 years, 1989-1993, medical records of all newborns with the diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) in 2 university hospitals in Tehran were reviewed. The study included 50, 28 (56%) male and 22 (44%) female, newborns. 25 (50%) showed the clinical symptoms in the first week of life. Clinical manifestations in order to frequency were as follows: Heart murmur 86%, respiratory distress 64%, cyanosis 42%, congestive heart failure 30%, hepatomegaly 24%, poor feeding 20%, tachycardia 20%, respiration 8% and dysrhythmia 2%. 26 (52%) cases with CHD had left to right shunts. 5 (10%) suffered from complex heart lesions such as transposition of great arteries (TGA). A one-day old female newborn born to a diabetic mother showed septal hypertrophy in echocardiography. In a one-day old male newborn with cardiogenic shock hypoplastic left heart syndrome was diagnosed at autopsy. 7 (14%) patients had additional extra-cardiac malformations. 8 (16%) patients died. TGA was the most common (5%) cause of mortality.